I'll Always Come Back
by Havah Kinny
Summary: Peter wakes in the middle of the night after a nightmare, worried about Edmund. Slash, Peter/Edmund oneshot.


_**Author's Note: Warning - Peter/Edmund slash. Also, it's been awhile since I wrote Narnia fanfiction, so go easy on me! And this is, in my mind, movie verse.

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Peter sighed as he looked down at the sleeping boy in the bed beside him. He hated the way this worked, when he woke with a wild nightmare about something awful, something dreadful, happening to Edmund in the realm of Narnia. His breathing was still heavy from waking and trying to regulate the air flowing through his body.

"Hey," Edmund opened his eyes as though he had just sensed Peter's thoughts, but in reality, it had been the change in warmth beside him that had woken him. "Are you alright? It's the middle of the night."

"Yeah," Peter breathed. "I'm fine, just had a bad dream."

"Tell me about it?" Edmund reached out, putting his hand on Peter's shoulder and applying force, pushing his brother's body back down onto the mattress. "Talk to me, Peter." He barely whispered the words as he leaned over, kissing Peter's bare shoulder.

"It's nothing." He shook his head. "Really, just go back to sleep."

"I can't." Edmund shook his head. "I can't go to sleep knowing that you're not at ease. Come on, babe," he said softly, resting his head on Peter's chest. "Just talk to me."

"Ed…" Peter's arm made its way instinctively around his brother's shoulders, pulling him closer. "Just let it go, please?"

"Was it really that bad?" Edmund looked up as best he could, his expression unreadable by anyone aside from Peter. The expression he showed was reserved for his brother – filled with love, filled with care, and most of all, without any words at all, filled with question.

"I'm just scared," Peter began. "I'm afraid of what Aslan said, of what he means. Susan and I, we're done, but you and Lu are going back, and the way that works, you could just disappear at any time and I wouldn't know until you returned to tell me about it."

"Exactly," Edmund stated. "You won't know I'm gone, so you've got no reason to worry."

"Quite the opposite." A gentle sigh escaped Peter's lips just before he tilted his head down, briefly brushing a kiss to the stop of Edmund's head, lips caressing the boy's dark hair. "Every time that you're not around, every time that I can't see you, I'm afraid that Narnia could claim you. It's not that I don't want you to return. I know your love for the world, but I'm afraid that the next time it takes you, it won't give you back."

"Peter, that's stupid." Edmund laughed, though there was no humor to his action. "Narnia's always returned us intact before, you have nothing to worry about." He turned, placing a soft kiss to Peter's chest, just below his collar bone. "Don't be afraid for me, Peter, I'll always come back to you."

"How can you know that?" Peter asked. "I've seen how close you've come to death, I've almost been responsible for that on more than one occasion."

"But I'm still here," Edmund reminded him. "And with each day, I'm growing stronger, more able to protect myself."

"Even the strongest, bravest kings fall," Peter countered. "You're not a child anymore. They're going to expect more from you, everything from you. They will want you to lead them, and what if something goes wrong?"

"We all die eventually," Edmund whispered. "The world isn't timeless for anyone."

"I know." Peter's hand curled around Edmund's bare stomach, reaching for the boy's hand. "But if your time runs out while you're in Narnia, I may never know. I'm worried that one day, you'll be called back, you'll just disappear and I'll never see you again."

"Peter, that's not going to happen." Edmund laced his fingers through Peter's, squeezing his brother's hand. "Aslan wouldn't let that happen to me. He wouldn't let that happen to you, to us."

"How can you be certain?" Peter asked.

"You've always been skeptical of Aslan, but Peter, has he ever led us astray?" Edmund pulled Peter's hand upwards, kissing the back of it with soft, sleepy lips. "When we've needed him, in the end, he's always been there."

"I can't lose you, Edmund." Peter shook his head. "You've got no say in when you'll go, I've got no say in it, at any moment, you could be whisked away – I'm afraid. This time, if you go back, I won't be able to protect you if I need to."

"I know that you are but you don't have to be. Narnia will protect its kings and queens, it will protect me when you cannot and it will protect you from having to deal without the person you love."

"You really believe that?" Peter asked. "You really believe that when you go back, you'll come back in perfect condition?"

"I do." Edmund nodded. "It's happened before, and I'll always have the memories, but I never have the scars." He led Peter's hands down to his stomach, unlacing his fingers from his brother's so that the older boy could feel Edmund's smooth skin. "There should be something there, a mark, a scar, but there's nothing."

"I know." Peter sighed, allowing his fingertips to caress the place where the witch had stabbed him their first time in Narnia…well, Edmund's second. "Is it wrong for me to be afraid, Edmund? I've been strong time and time again, but knowing that you'll be in danger when I'm not there scares me more than anything ever has."

"I love you, Peter," Edmund said softly.

"I love you too," Peter whispered.

"It's not wrong for you to be afraid, Peter. I'm not saying that, I'm just saying that you don't have to be because, no matter what, I'm always going to come back to you."

"Do you promise?"

"I promise." Edmund nodded, leaning up, kissing Peter gently on the lips. "Keep that as my promise."

"I will." Peter smiled softly. "Go back to sleep, Ed."

"You too." Edmund curled up beside Peter, closing his eyes as his brother's strong arms closed around him, protecting him from the one world he had control in.


End file.
